Time Flies

“Overall, Time Flies is a unique adventure full of surprises. Don't let the simple aesthetics and short runtime put you off; this is one of the most creative outings of the year.”

“Time Flies is a profoundly poignant game, allows you to look within yourself and especially with factors that are at play for each person, to hammer down that sonder, if you still have yet to obtain that sense of clarity, or if that sliver of reflection needs to continue growing. Being able to mix gameplay hilarity with the looming death that is ever approaching in this stylistically hand-drawn black and white world fascinates me. Just because you are as tiny as a fly in this game, does not mean your impact on its world is also tiny.”

“Time Flies surprised me positively and has become one of my favorite games this year so far. We get a fun title, with many clever ideas, unique backgrounds and even philosophical moments (the last sequence, to me, was one of the most remarkable [moments] I've seen in recent times) — and all this in a simple and quick to complete package. Maybe this is also the only weak point to the game: I felt like it should have more areas to explore. Nonetheless, Time Flies is a must-play to those who are looking for a short, remarkable and fun experience on Nintendo Switch.”

“Time Flies is a brief but fun title that focuses on reflection and choice. It might not resonate with everyone due to its simplicity, but don't let that deter you. It's a game that reminds us that time cannot be reclaimed, so make the most of the time you have.”

“Time Flies is a humorous, existentialist philosophical exercise that has us flying like flies, trying to make the most of our short lives. Each time, we have just over a minute to explore the areas, find points of interaction, and decipher simple and creative tasks, until we manage to complete them all in a single, ephemeral race against the clock. It's a game I wish would last longer, reflecting the bittersweet truth of each person's journey: it may be good, but it's also brief.”

“While you might initially struggle to find the interactions, you'll quickly memorize them and string them together as quickly as possible. You'll die, and that's the point. Sometimes you just have to try falling into the water and see what happens. That's precisely the point of the game. If you were to perform and know all the interactions immediately, the game would take less than fifteen minutes, but with a bit of detective work and fiddling, it could easily take two or three hours. Plus, there are puzzle pieces you have to find to complete a puzzle, which adds a bit more challenge. Time Flies is a game unlike any other, and for that reason alone, it deserves a try for any player who enjoys a relaxing yet creatively designed game. The time limit might initially feel like a pressure point, but it works perfectly in this game mechanic, preventing the constant restart of the level from becoming annoying. Time flew by while playing this game! And that alone seems like a good sign to me.”

“Time Flies is a clever and enjoyable experience that delivers a profound message amongst its hectic speed running adventures. Savour the moments, as time flies when you're having fun!”

“Time Flies is definitely novel, and it offers a lot of freedom to explore a tiny sandbox for a little while.”

“Even as someone who finds video games to be an incredibly worthwhile way to spend my time, I find myself falling victim to the "Is it long enough? Is it too long?" ruminating that plagues the industry today. As I've gotten older, that conversation has shifted, though. If it was two hours or two hundred, I didn't care. It's more about how the time spent felt. We've only got so much of it, after all. And even as it brought a newly heightened sense of my own ever-ticking life clock, I found that Time Flies was time well spent.”

“Once you accomplish the feat of completing every list item in one run, you unlock the next level. I enjoyed repeating the process of interpreting each abstract checklist item across Time Flies' four levels, but since it took me around just 30 runs to complete the entire game, the experience was over just as I started feeling at home with the mechanics and puzzle conventions.”

““Time Flies is a little adventure about our limited time in this world,” claims Playables, but Time Flies is much more than that. It is a mirror held up to our own experiences, about how the choices we make influence our time. While we can make lists and plans, sometimes we just run out of time due to factors outside our control. Sometimes it’s better just to learn a little, finish a little, and then spin on a record for a while. Enjoy the last little bits of time we have with each other while the seconds tick down. Or we can snort drugs in a museum and party for no reason other than to party. Whatever passes the seconds.”

“Time Flies is a clever puzzle-exploration game and a playful meditation on life's brevity. Its gameplay mechanics don't evolve dramatically from one level to the next, but that never felt like a hindrance. It's a tight, focused experience that delivers its core ideas with confidence but doesn't necessarily push beyond them. That said, Time Flies never feels like a concept stretched too thin, and it bows out before overstaying its welcome.”

“A short, surreal roguelike puzzler that proves a video game doesn’t have to be 60 hours long or feature photorealistic graphics to be entertaining and thought-provoking.”

“The game will probably only last you a couple of hours or so, but that time is filled with lots of fun moments and amusing gags. It's not something that'll stand up to many replays, but it's an entertaining curiosity while it lasts.”

“It is rare that a game is so sharply tuned that I can be satisfied with having fewer levels to play through. Time Flies is such an easy recommendation to just about anyone who plays games. Your time with it may be short, but it is certainly well spent.”

“Time Flies may be on the short side, but its quirky and funny list of things to do and surprising amount of attention to immersion transforms a quick jaunt into an impactful life lesson. Life's too short to worry about the small stuff, be a fly for a couple of hours.”

“Time Flies is a short but clever game where you guide a fly through a bucket list of life goals before its inevitable death. Blending dark (and crass) humor with thoughtful design, it offers a light yet thought-provoking take on the fleeting nature of life.”

“Visually speaking, it’s dull. When it comes to its sound department, there isn’t one – all you’re going to hear is annoying flies buzzing around. The gameplay is as shallow as a puddle, and whether or not this was meant to be comedic or philosophical, it has failed either way. I wasn’t laughing or thinking about the futility of a small amount of time spent alive, even if this was supposed to be one of its (smuggish) intentions – I was just beyond bored.”

“Time Flies is a short and simple game with simple graphics, but that's not a flaw. It has excellent puzzles, a great sense of humor, and deep themes that make it a great experience.”